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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25114195">Stare Down the Barrel</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/j_whirl44/pseuds/j_whirl44'>j_whirl44</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Podcast Girls Week 2020 [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Rusty Quill Gaming (Podcast)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Episode: e147 The Dungeon Master (Rusty Quill Gaming), Gen</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 08:09:04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>987</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25114195</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/j_whirl44/pseuds/j_whirl44</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Azu looks at the beast.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Azu &amp; Sasha Racket, Grizzop drik Acht Amsterdam &amp; Azu</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Podcast Girls Week 2020 [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1821985</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Podcast Girls Week</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Stare Down the Barrel</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>If there’s one thing Azu is sure of it’s that she really hates this dungeon. If someone asked her she’d probably say they’ve been in here for months, it was just so hard to say. They’ve barely had time to rest, this place so full of traps and games and <em> blobs </em>and she's just so tired and so unamused. She wants to find Shoin and she wants to leave.</p><p>She can’t do either right now though, as the party stares down a gigantic sentient pipe organ and its many contraptions. Plus, <em> more blobs </em>. She’s angry and she’s tired and she’s had enough.</p><p>She’s had enough fighting. She wants to spread good, she wants to help people, that’s always been what she’s set out to do. Then she met Hamid...and the others. Sasha. Grizzop. And they’re not here anymore. And she misses them.</p><p>She thinks briefly about what either of those two would do now staring up at one of the biggest monsters they’ve seen. Grizzop would no doubt run at it head on, he'd try to pierce its metal skin and he’d probably climb it. Sasha would try and sneak up on it as best she could and throw any and all bombs she had. Azu wonders if they’d make a difference. How the benefit of having another paladin here would help. An invisible rouge.</p><p>But they’re not here. Rome made sure of that. And Azu’s dumb luck.</p><p>She knows she can’t blame herself, and that she shouldn’t. It wasn’t her fault. No matter what that little voice in her head says. There was so much happening. Her hand slipped. No one was prepared for the toll of the plane shift. It all happened so fast and Azu thinks about them every day.</p><p>But Hamid’s still here. And Zolf and Cel. And right now in this moment they’re all throwing everything they have at a beast that wants them all dead. So Azu closes her eyes and focuses. She calls out to Aphrodite for guidance and she feels the warm glow on her chest where her necklace lay and she smiles. She sees the pink and orange spirit of Aphrodite and she hears a voice in her head. It’s sweet and it's calm and says, <em>“Stare at the beast. What do you feel? What do you see?”</em></p><p>Azu opens her eyes. She sees the beast as it huffs out air and its mechanical limbs are stiff when they move but they're loud and abrasive and she can’t focus on much else now.</p><p>She sees the blackness surrounding it. Like a cloud of horror that controls the things. It’s evil. She feels it now. She raises her axe and gets a stronger grip on it. Aphrodite breaks through once more. <em>“Get it done, my paladin,”</em> she says.</p><p>Azu is filled with a new sense of duty. Of honor. She thinks of Grizzop and Sasha again. She looks towards the others who are all as beaten down as she feels.</p><p>She focuses back on the beast. It looms over them all, she stares up at it again and takes in a big breath. She focuses on where her body is, let’s out the breath. </p><p>“I am going to take you down.”</p><p>She charges towards the beast, her great axe feels as light as it’s ever been in her hands. Her necklace still feels warm on her chest and she swears the pink glow surrounding her is brighter in this moment. She lets out a powerful yell as she crashes the axe into its leg. The limb dents instantly and there’s sparks as the metals hit one another. She removes it and takes another swing to the same result. She lets out another yell as she steps back. Ready for the next moment to strike. A new sense of something grows inside her, but she can’t place it just yet.</p><p>The fight rages on and she feels so close to death. She’s kneeling on the ground, her axe the only thing keeping her up right. She can’t get a hold of her breathing and all she can smell is the blood on her face. The beast, though definitely worse for wear and missing a few limbs, is still alive and she’s back to just being <em> so tired </em>. The adrenaline from earlier begins to wear off as she closes her eyes and tries not to focus on how hard it is to breathe.</p><p>For the briefest moment she thinks she sees Grizzop’s red eyes gleaming back at her, accompanied with that wicked grin on his face he always wore. She takes in another shaky breath and now sees Sasha’s cold but soft brown eyes, attached to the small but strong face with a smile Azu rarely saw in the time they knew each other.</p><p>She tries to stand, lets out an exhausted gasp as she tries to prepare for another attack. It will probably be her last. She makes peace with it.</p><p>She feels the fire come from behind her. The beast is down and dead. She’s standing and alive.</p><p>She looks to see Hamid drop out of invisibility with a bright smile on his face. Zolf and Cel give their own cries of victory. Azu is silent and dumbfounded. She doesn’t know what to feel at this moment. Her mind and heart are racing. She’s in pain but she’s glad she can feel it.</p><p>Zolf comes forward and heals her. They share a look of understanding, he gives her a nod and she reciprocates. She takes the deepest breath she can muster as they discuss their next moves.</p><p>For the first time since entering this place, she feels back in her body. She feels at one with herself in a way that she wasn’t before.</p><p>Azu breathes deeply one last time as they exit the room. She touches her necklace and thanks Aphrodite.</p><p>As well as her fallen friends.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>whew its hard when your favorite Azu moment is from a v heavy combat episode but alas I did it~</p><p>Hope you enjoyed!!!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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